with temperatures soaring, that's making bart trains hot, hot, hot, but you don't have to suffer for your entire ride. i'm christie smith, we'll tell you what you should do if your train becomes a sauna. plus a drastic day of action affecting thousands of children. child care centers throughout the bay care area shut down this wednesday, september 29th, "today in the east bay." good morning, everyone. i'm scott mcgrew. it is 4:30. we start the day with jennifer hill in for rob. jennifer, i got a look at your weather maps. i saw the word "cold."

it was there somewhere. >> i can't believe you were peeking before everything starts! this morning, unfortunately, it's not cold or cool in livermore or concord. we're still seeing temperatures in the upper 60s, 70 in oakland but we have seen some cooling along the coastline. today things are really going to start to pick up in terms of that onshore breeze to start to cool us down. once that comes onshore we'll notice those temperatures getting much cooler. probably colder as we get towards the end of the week. noon temperature 74 fremont, 84 livermore and 64 in san francisco. let's turn to mike starting off on the nimitz. >> surprise. something going on on the nimitz overnight. we had an accident right around high street. chp has just been notified they need to assist caltrans in picking some of the cones up northbound at 23rd heading through downtown but that means the construction zone there is clearing up. we'll take a look at more construction on the maps,

eastbound 580 approaching the interchange, foothill to hacienda, one construction zone blocking two lanes there and another construction zone just as you're heading over towards pleasanton and livermore and more construction heading towards airway. those are picking up before 6:00 a.m. and the commute route westbound and that's not a problem right now. we'll follow the commute as it builds through the east bay. this heat wave turning the commute into a sticky and uncomfortable one for some. in fact some bart cars are like saunas. christie smith is live in oakland with what's causing toaster oven-like conditions. >> reporter: good morning to you. well, it's a couple of things that's causing this but i wanted to get to what you should do if you're sitting in a bart train suffering. basically what you do is you call for help. inside the bart train on each end of the train there is an intercom. get on that intercom and let the train operator know the air

conditioning is not functioning and make sure they know which car number you're in, which should be located by the intercom. it turns out that about a third of bart's cars have air conditioning problems that really become noticeable and exaggerated when the mercury soars. there have been several heat-related delays recently, especially at the end of the line farthest from the coast where it's getting the hottest. bart says the heat creates a domino effect. it causes computers in the control room and control boxes along the tracks to malfunction. the system is about 30 control rooms and they were built many years ago with no air conditioning. they're getting old and starting to break down. it would cost millions of dollars to upgrade that system so that's probably not going to happen any time soon. in the meantime let the train operator know so they can at least get a technician out to fix the air conditioning. they said on any given day they have five to seven technicians ready to make the fix.

>> thank you. if it gets too hot for you to bear at home many cities have set up cooling centers. for instance, in san ramon there are several sites. the san ramon community center, san ramon library and doherty station library. the centers will be open through friday. new this morning, hundreds of bay area parents will have to keep their kids at home or drop them off at alternative day care because of the state budget crisis. the state-funded nonprofit day care center kid dango is closing its 41 centers in the bay area today. now, this move is meant to call attention to the impact of the state budget delay. they say it is struggling to survive and make ends meet. child care providers, parents and teachers will march along mission boulevard in free mon and rally at noon in oakland. the budget a big subject in

last night's very first gubernatorial debate. meg whitman and jerry brown tried to convince voters that their plan could lead california to a better future. as "today in the bay's" jean ellie reports, plenty of action before the debate began and surprising little when it was over. >> reporter: the candidates used their first meeting to define their governing strategies. >> if we are going to change the direction of the state, we're going to have to do it very differently. >> because you run a private business, you think you can run government. >> reporter: whitman has spent her own money to run her campaign buys her negotiating power in sacramento. something brown won't have because unions are funding his campaign. >> putting jerry brown in charge of negotiating with the labor unions around pensions, around how many people we have in the state government is like putting count dracula in charge of the blood bank. >> reporter: brown was quick to point out he has a record of

standing up to labor. >> i am the only governor that vetoed the excessive pay raises of all the state employees, not once, but twice. the majority will get an immediate tax break from her key economic plan, which is to eliminate totally the california capital gains tax. >> reporter: immigration is a defining issue. >> we can't round them up and deport them like they did in eastern europe. we have to find a path to citizenship. i think if we do and we secure the borders -- >> reporter: whitman opposes the path to citizenship but says the workforce is important. >> we have got to eliminate sanctuary cities. the worst of that is san francisco. but i want to couple that with some of our industries, like agriculture. >> reporter: both say creating jobs is a top priority. brown will look to green jobs, whitman will look to tax cuts and incentives. >> now polls show this race is close and there are lots of

undecided voters out there. both camps are claiming victory but what they really need is votes. what happened after the debate is raising some eyebrows. >> mr. brown, could you just answer a few questions, please? >> jerry brown, in an out of character move, never stopped to answer questions. he did in passing comment that it was an exciting exchange as he turned to escape the crush of media. whitman agreed to a brief meeting with reporters, saying she was delighted by how things went. if you're still undecided, there are still two more debates, one in fresno and then nbc bay area will be hosting the final debate on october 12th. our coverage begins at 6:00, the debate at 6:30, moderated by tom brokaw and post-debate analysis at 7:30. we'll also be streaming the entire thing on nbcbayarea.com. convicted killer albert greenwood brown will stay on death row indefinitely. a federal judge suspended

tomorrow night's execution. judge jeremy fogel said the state was trying to hurry the execution along before the courts reviewed new procedures put in place after a court order. one santa clara university law professor agrees the case needs to be carefully reviewed. >> at some point we need to step back and say we are examining how the state is going to kill another human being. and when we're doing that, we should want -- the people in the state should want the government to do that in a way that's appropriate, that's constitutional. >> governor arnold schwarzenegger, who delayed the execution himself on monday, says he will ask a federal appeals court to lift the stay and allow the execution to go forward. this morning a search is on for a second possible suspect in a shooting outside highland hospital in oakland. a 22-year-old man was shot and is in critical condition at that hospital. police have not released the man's identity or a motive in

the shooting. officers have one suspect in custody. good morning, folks. let's take you to the east shore. there's a light volume of traffic. that still means a lot of cars heading through this portion of the east bay but speeds close to the limit. 18-minute drive from the carquinez drive down to the berkeley curve and the bay bridge toll plaza. walnut creek a nice drive. 680 past highway 4 and towards 24 and that interchange is very nice. you see the speed is at the limit. 680 south towards the dub lick interchange and continuing on to sun sunol, no major issues. a live look at the sunol grade shows a smooth, light flow of traffic. we'll see the slowing start around 6:30 and closer to 7:00. we'll continue to watch that and the south bay showing a nice

easy drive so far. you'll find some construction spots up towards oakland road where some of that construction has been for the last few days. we shouldn't see any major slowing and that should be picked up just before 6:30 when things start to get slow throughout the south bay. let's turn to jennifer hill and some weather. >> good morning. as we look at our temperature map it's still a little hot in the inland areas. some of the beaches did get a cooldown yesterday. it was interesting to see the temperature differences in san francisco. it was 30 grows cooler at the zoo than in downtown san francisco. 57 in novato, 69 in livermore and 72 right now in san jose. when is the cooling going to come, you ask? it will come this afternoon. it looks like in the east bay once that sea breeze moves in, which won't be until this afternoon, you'll notice the temperatures dropping. it should be a nice, cooler evening. we'll continue with that cooldown all the way through the weekend. air quality is improving. it's good to see the yellow

colors instead of the red color. red isn't healthy. then we see moderate air quality. the other thing we're noticing are some clouds coming in from the south. there's some talk that you might hear a little bit of thunder this afternoon, but we're not looking at a big rain event. our forecast highs are going to be hot yet again in some spots but thankfully not as hot as yesterday. it looks like as we're cruising towards the weekend, our temperatures will be much better for that, for all those outdoor activities. last week since you couldn't mow the lawn, now you can. it will be cool enough. >> i could in theory, yes. time now 4:41. treating cancer in young women. the surprising new treatment using a form of birth control. plus dumped on a doorstep in the east bay. who shot and killed a baby bear. and more budget problems at uc berkeley. the money woes forcing cuts in five big sms. (announcer) while there are some home disasters you can't avoid,

there is one you can. septic system breakdowns affect 1.2 million homes each year. septic backups can cost about six thousand dollars in expense, and countless hours of repair. rid-x. help save yourself from disaster. our state has a huge deficit. meg whitman's plan will make it billions worse by eliminating the capital gains tax for wealthy investors,

including herself. economists say her plan will "rip a hole in the budget" and is "deeply flawed". analysts for the l.a. times say whitman's plan is a "pure handout" to the rich creating a "huge risk" to schools and public safety. jerry brown's against this unfair giveaway because it will take billions from our children when we can least afford it. get california working again-for all of us.

a live look at oakland this morning where we will still see temperatures in the 90s in concord and livermore. high in the east bay of the just 75. we'll check in with jennifer on that. the number one public university in the country cutting sports, and it's all because of california's budget crisis. cal saying goodbye to baseball, men's and women's gymnastics, within's lacrosse and rugby. it's produced notable major

league players like jeff kent. also big at rugby. now it will be a club sport. cal says the cuts are an effort to save $4 million. not a good story on the cal campus today. the number one public university, well, we just discussed that little news item. why don't we talk over to mike. good morning, mike. good morning. we'll take you out to oakland where we talked about construction zones. the southbound side from broadway down to 5th, there's a construction zone there. the northbound side we do know that's picking up heading up towards 23rd. i know that because chp has been called for help for a little traffic control passing by 23rd as they pick up the cone zone so watch for flashing lights. just a little blip on the southbound side. we see speeds dipping just a little bit because of that construction zone likely because

the equipment imoving. 880 we'll look at a live shot past the coliseum. traffic is flowing nicely. the taillights as they make the bend at the high street offer ramp. there's an earlier accident that's cleared. southbound side no major issues heading south towards the san mateo bridge. a nice little glow of those lights and that may be an indicator of a little more moisture in the air. >> at least we can say it was a dry heat. we don't want to throw any more moisture in there. it has remained very warm in the overnight hours here in the east bay. 66 in concord, 66 livermore, 71 in san jose and 62 in fairfield. now, the cooldown is coming. some area beaches did see some of that cooler air today. we'll really feel it pick up and then move inland but it looks like not until the afternoon. here's what's happening, the big picture. high pressure is parked over us. that's going to shift off to the east and as it does it will allow more of an onshore flow to

come into the region. we'll start to notice that in the afternoon so in the evening hours we'll notice that in the east bay. once that cool air comes in you know that you'll need a jacket this evening or at least a sweater after all that heat. also some moisture down to the south will start to move up. we're seeing some of the clouds moving into the area. it's been so clear the last couple of days we're going to notice some cloud cover coming in. it's not really bringing any rain. 92 fairfield today, 94 livermore. topping out at 68 in san francisco, 85 degrees in los gatos. and we're going to hold on to temperatures that are a little above average but at least they'll be comfortable temperatures. 84 degrees for saturday and sunday is going to feel pretty good. i'm already looking ahead to the weekend, scott. >> me too. thank you, jennifer. a new nbc news/wall street journal poll shows six in ten americans think the country and particularly the economy is headed in the wrong direction. that's despite the best september on the dow in more than 70 years.

for more on news before the bell let's turn to courtney reagan who is live at cnbc world headquarters. >> reporter: good morning, scott. futures started out the morning a bit lower and now we're relatively flat so it remains to be seen what's going to happen when the opening bell sounds at 9:30 a.m. we saw a nice gain yesterday. all three indices posted them. it wasn't quite enough to keep european markets in positive territory. sentiment in japan and a rise in china orders had asian markets mixed. the dow was up 46 points to start trading today at 10,858. the nasdaq added 10 points to 2379. the focus in washington today will be on taxes. after 47 house democrats broke ranks with president obama yesterday on the issue, in a letter to house speaker nancy pelosi they supported keeping the bush era tax cuts.

president obama wants to let the cuts expire at the end of the year. 55% of respondents said raising taxes on any american will slow the economy and kill jobs. back to you, scott. >> all right, courtney, thank you. toys r us is making a big hiring push for the holidays. the toy store chain says it plans to hire 45,000 temporary workers for the holiday season. that's 10,000 more employees than it usually hires for the season. toys r us is opening 600 additional pop-up stores in malls across the country this year and that's contributing to the need for additional staffing. many workers will also staff traditional stores and distribution centers as well. president jimmy carter will resume promoting his new book today after spending the night in the hospital. carter complained of an upset stomach during a flight. today carter will be at two events in washington, including one at the smithsonian. yesterday book signings for his

"white house diary" were cancelled in cleveland and durham, north carolina, when the 85-year-old got sick. his grandson says he is now doing just fine. well, plagued by polls that predict republican victories in november, president obama has found a new target to attack. his own party. today in the bay's tracie potts has more on the president's soft tongue lashing from the campaign trail. >> i don't know about you, but i'm fired up. >> reporter: president obama is telling democrats ignore polls and pundits claiming the party is apathetic. >> we cannot sit this one out. we can't let this country fall backwards because the rest of us didn't care enough to fight. >> reporter: in interviews he's even tougher. the president told "rolling stone" the democrats sitting on their hands complaining are irresponsible. republicans and even some democrats say beating up the base may back fire. >> you're out there trying to terrify them and put all these scare tactics out there and hope

that the fear will drive them to the polls. >> reporter: mr. obama is on a four-state swing to drum up support amid a faltering economy. >> i don't think there's anyone, one specific sector that we can place the blame on. >> reporter: but nearly a third of the americans do. in a new poll the percentage who blame mr. obama for america's economic woes have almost doubled since january. enthused by the tea party, republicans say they have got momentum. >> it's not there on the democratic side as much as the republican side. >> reporter: expect more heated rhetoric as president obama rallies in iowa and virginia today. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. let's get a look at what's coming up later "today in the bay." laura garcia-cannon is putting that show together. >> good morning, everyone, thanks for joining us this morning. seeing the giants clinch a playoff spot is going to cost you. our own bob redell will be live from china basin with a look at why the giants' fans are really getting gouged.

some ticket prices are four times higher than they were at the start of the year. plus we're working a developing and disturbing story coming from the war on terror, to the latest on the arrest on eight terror suspects in a plot. it is bear hunting season but in one east bay city, it's also bear discovery season. a 300-pound black bear was left in front of a row of businesses in san leandro. is it a case of urban poaching? today in the bay's cheryl hurd shows us the bizarre crime. >> i got closer to it, i thought it was a stuffed bear but it was a dead bear. >> reporter: not what she bargained for during closing sunday night at this burrito shop on foothill boulevard. >> it had its tongue sticking out, it was all bloody on one side. it was just dead. >> reporter: the owner of the restaurant came shortly after gutierrez saw the animal. his young son was with him. >> we were pulling in the parking lot. i'm thinking oh, a drunk guy.

no, it's a dead dog. no, a stuffed animal, oh, man, it's a bear, look at that. >> reporter: a rare citing, almost unbelievable. we talked to a fish and game officer. she saw two people drag the 300-pound california black bear out of the bed of the truck onto the sidewalk. it was three to five years old shot in the shoulder. there's wildlife in alameda county but black bears do not roam the hills in the east bay. >> bear skins are valuable. if they're a hunter, they would keep ahold onto it and wouldn't dump it so i'm thinking maybe it's some kind of superstitious thing. >> reporter: black bear poaching is not unheard of, popular in other states for bear paws, skin and the head for a trophy. in this case, fish and game officials believe a hunter without a license used foot held boulevard as a dumping ground for the bear for an unknown reason. at this point, they are running out of theories. >> it's just crazy!

crazy things happen on this m boulevard. it's just crazy. >> reporter: cheryl hurd, nbc bay area news. the iuds some women use for birth control may also help cancer drugs do their work. researchers tested use of an iud along with a monthly injection of hormones in women under 40 with precancer or early stage endometrial cancer. the iud allows a higher dose of hormone to the affected area than possible without a pill. when the iud was removed a year later after the majority of patients had responded to the treatment, just under half were able to bear children. let's turn to jennifer hill and weather. i was admitting i was looking at your notes earlier. i thought i saw cold, it was actually cool. >> that's why you never want to look off somebody else's work because you really don't know. yes, cool is coming, thankfully.

66 in concord, 66 right now in livermore. so you're saying right now it doesn't feel cool, but it will feel cool, i promise, later today. 54 novato, 61 in san francisco. the big change is coming, thanks to high pressure scooting away. as it does, that will allow the sea breeze to return and it's going to slowly make its way to the east bay and the inland areas. this afternoon when the sea breeze comes in, it's going to start to cool things down. you'll feel that in the east bay in the evening hours and then continue with that nice cooler trend through the end of the week and through the weekend. this is a look at our 8:00 a.m. forecast. 58 oakland, 59 livermore, 61 in gilroy. we have seen this high clouds coming into places like santa cruz as well. not going to bring us any rain. let's look at the noon temperatures. we'll be in the 90s at 4:00. that's a nice change. and the seven-day forecast, as promised, not cold but cool.

at least cooler. normal high right around 80 so we're still running above average, guys sghnc. all right, jennifer. bart riders are dealing with train cars that have no air conditioning. christie smith is live in oakland with what you can do if you find yourself in one of those hot, hot train cars. >> reporter: you know, the short answer is probably common sense, just move to a cooler car that doesn't make you sweat. before you do that, make sure you get on the intercom and let the train operator know that the car that you're in is like a sauna and the air conditioning isn't working. also make sure that you let them know what car number you're in, which is near the intercom above the door inside the train. that way they can get a technician out there to try to get the cool air blowing again. bart says that they can usually fix the problem about 50% of the time rather quickly. so what is the problem? well, bart has had several heat-related delays lately, particularly inland where it's

been the hottest. about a third of bart's cars have had their air conditioning on the blink lately. the heat causes computers in the control room and control boxes along the tracks to malfunction, so it's really a domino effect. the control rooms are rather old and have no ac either so that equipment is breaking down more often too. the boxes along the tracks control how fast the train moves. when they break, well you know it's a mess. so part is trying to replace its trains in the long term but until that happens, get on the super ca intercom, get a tech out there and on any given weekday they have five to seven technicians ready to go and get out there and get it fixed. looking to catch a giants game this weekend is going to cost you more for the rest of the season. "today in the bay's" bob redell will have a live report on how much manage up. plus the east bay county jumping on the no smoking

bandwagon. and we'll have the latest developments in the san bruno pipeline explosion investigation. i was told that i was at risk for sudden cardiac death. i was 23 years old, i wasn't overweight. i never dreamed this would happen to me. when the doctor told me i had three blocked arteries, i felt like i was punched in the gut. i found out that one in three women die from heart disease. how did i not know that?

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